Hvar – part II

Hvar – part II

After our boating adventure and day trip out to the blue caves both Lauren and I were kind of thankful that we woke up to a massive storm the next day. It only rained in the morning but it gave us a chance to have a bit of a sleep in. So after the rain stopped on day 3 of Hvar we took the chance to go and check out what the old town had to offer. We had walked through it many times already but hadn’t yet had time to explore off the touristy path in all the back alleys and side streets. Hvar didn’t disappoint. We were able to get a bit more of a taste of how the locals spend their days and also how they make a living. There were old ladies selling their hand-knitted silks and cloths, numerous stalls selling all sorts of lavender inspired items and old men selling their sketch drawings of the old town and its many beautiful attractions.

The wharf at Hvar is filled with non stop movement. Instead of doing some ‘people watching’ from a cafe, we strategically placed ourselves at dinner and did some ‘wharf watching’ over a tasty seafood dish. To see some of the ridiculously massive boats (mainly Russian owners) come and plonk themselves at a port and their rich owners walk off for a bite to eat was quite the scene. We saw the wharf authorities yelling at boat owners who had seemingly skipped the ‘unspoken que’ to dock their boat, weary crews all smashing back beers and playing drinking games on deck and watched many yachts skillfully sail into their allotted space.

Our final day in Hvar brought back the sunshine and with that came another scootering adventure. There were two more places that we wanted to try and get to and so we filled our pack with goodies and set off for our first stop – Jelsa. Driving the scooter through this sort of countryside is stunning in itself even if you don’t have a destination in mind. After stopping a few times along the way to admire the view from the cliff edge we arrived in Jelsa and found that it was hot. Actually really quite hot. So that meant a bay needed to be found and swims needed to be had. As Lauren aptly named it, “pine beach” was our found and loved destination where we stayed and read for many hours and just enjoyed the water in the heat. What I really loved about swimming here is that there are just so many spots all along the coast that it feels like there is noone else around. Also, the locals don’t swim until the peak of summer as they say the 20degree water is far too cold for them. I think they are spoilt. I don’t think the water ever gets much warmer in Australia. After swims and relaxing we stopped in briefly at Stari Grad. We both wished we had more time to explore this town as it was one of the most beautiful towns we had been to. The side alleys once again featured but there were also an abundance of very cute and amazingly welcoming restaurants that were serving up delicious food.. Perhaps next time Stari Grad.

To top off our last night in Hvar we walked around to a beach bar and sat and watched the sun-set with a glass of white wine. I know it sounds cliche but I don’t really care. In this instance cliche was good. It certainly topped off our time in Hvar. Next stop, back to the mainland to the 2nd biggest city in Croatia behind the capital – Split.